Poultry back scalder



Oct. 29, 1957 J, ADAMS r AL 2,810,927

POULTRY BACK SCALDER Original Filed Nov. 4, 1952 g llli .i

B l nwmrons W0 JA K D ws g fizfz/f/v aya ow /ile) United States PatentPOULTRY BACK SCALDER Jack Adams and Merritt I. Darrow, Chicago, 111.,assignors to Swift & Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of IllinoisOriginal application November 4, 1952, Serial No. 318,587, now PatentNo. 2,700,792, dated February 1, 1955. Divided and this applicationApril 23, 1954, Serial No. 425,267

1 Claim. (Cl. 17-11.2)

This invention pertains to apparatus that facilitates the defeatheringof fowl. More particularly, the invention provides apparatus whichpermits a moreeflicient and complete removal of broken feathers, pinfeathers, and other matter from the back of fowl.

In the picking of poultry it is conventional practice to loosen thefeathers prior to picking by immersing the fowl in hot water. Thispractice has proven objectionable because of the failure to developscalding conditions which will loosen all feathers without damaging aportion of the fowls skin. A lengthy scald at relatively hightemperature is desirable from the standpoint of the easy removal of thefeathers, but such a scald has its short comings in that the mechanicalpickers commonly used will bark or remove outer layers of skin of thebird, spoiling the appearance and lessening the value of the product.For this reason the present practice is a compromise and certain areasof the feathers may prove to be particularly diflicult to remove becausethey do not loosen as readily as the remainder with the operatingtemperatures employed. The present methods of scalding are particularlyobjectionable in the processing of birds having poorly feathered backs.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide apparatusfor the scalding of the back side of a fowl so as to loosen all backfeathers, including pin and broken stubs, and scabby areas withoutdamaging the skin of other portions of the bird.

During the summer months and to some extent throughout the year, thedressing of poorly feathered fowl, which are frequently referred to asbare backs, is a serious problem to the processing plants because of thedifliculty of removing pin feathers and broken stub feathers from theback area. This inefficient removal necessitates a downgrading of thefowl and the resulting profit loss to the processing plant. Generallyspeaking, the apparatus of our invention for steaming the back of a fowlcomprises a steam hood or chamber with an opening having a configurationadapted to fit snugly against the back of the fowl. A steam pipe opensinto the chamber, and there is provided a valve for controlling the flowof the steam from a steam source to the chamber. A trigger arm ispositioned to open the valve with the closing of the chamber opening bythe carcass of the fowl being steamed.

The invention will be more fully understood from the followingdescription read in connection with the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates one embodiment of the invention utilizing insuccession a conventional scald tank to the far left of the figure, aback scalding unit, and a slant drum picker;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the back scalding unit of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a perspective of the steam ejection hood which is a portionof the back scalding unit.

In Figure 1 there is shown from left to right a conventional scald tank10, a back scalding unit 11, and a slant picker 12. The birds are movedprogressively from left to right by a conveyor system 14, made up of ahorizontal chain 16 supported by several trolleys 17 which ride on atrack 18. The trolleys and chain are moved at a uniform rate by a sourceof power not shown. Sev eral detachable shackles 20 which are adaptedfor carrying birds are hooked at intervals on the conveyor chain. Theshackles may be of any well-known type. A shackle contemplated is thatshown and described in the De Vout patent, No. 2,035,948, issued March31, 1936, or a modification thereof.

The birds first pass through the scalding tank, which tank may be any ofthe type known to the art that is adaptable to the operation. Thetemperature of the water of this tank is within the range conventionallyemployed, i. e., l18132 F. A chute 21 at the exit end of the tank slopesoutwardly and upwardly in the direction' of the line of movement of thebirds. This chute lessens the swing of the bird as it falls free of thetank and at the same time reduces the loss of water from the scald tank,caused by the removal of the bird.

Following removal from the scald tank, the fowl being processed nextpasses through the back scald unit. The back scald unit (bestillustrated in Figure 2) is made up of a steam ejection hood 24, a steamdeflector 25, spaced from the hood and placed to deflect the steamemitting from the hood, and the necessary steam feed pipes 26 connectingthe steam hood to the steam source (not shown). A valve 27 in the steampipe which is actuated through movement of an operating lever 29 governsthe flow of steam to the hood.

The steam feed pipe which extends down from the ceiling past theconveyor carries at its lower end the steam ejection hood at the heightof the back of the fowl being processed. The outlet of the steam hood asillustrated is of a configuration that will snugly fit the back of afowl so as to limit the direct steaming to the back area. The verticalsection of the hood illustrated is roughly comparable to thelongitudinal section of a pear, with the small end up and adapted tocover the back area of the carcass adjacent the tail. For the protectionof the operating personnel, the steam pipe and hood are insulated andthe steam deflector is provided to prevent the direct contact by thepersonnel with the steam blast. The deflector is spaced from the openingof the hood a distance suflicient to provide adequate clearance for thefowl which are moved therebetween. When the bird is in line with thehood, the operator pulls the bird into contact with it, sealing thebirds back against the outlet of the hood. This positioning of the birdtrips the operating lever to actuate the valve, thereby opening thesteam line to the flow of steam to the hood and the back of the bird.This operation requires only a brief interval. A steaming interval of 1/2 to 2 seconds has proven satisfactory with many fowl. When the bird ismoved out of contact with the operating lever, the spring-loaded valvecloses.

The fowl, following the steaming operation, are moved by the conveyor tothe conventional slant picker. The slant picker has a frame 29 whichsupports two spaced and inclined longitudinal drums 30. The spaced drumshave parallel axes and are driven by a motor 32.

The drums cary a plurality of flexible picking fingers 31 made, forexample, of rubber. The fowl being processed pass between the adjacentdrums where the down wardly moving picking fingers of both drums strokethe carcass to remove substantially all the feathers. From this slantpicker the fowl pass to further processing.

:In operation of the embodiment of Figure 1, the individual birdssuspended from the conveyor are first scalded in a conventional scaldtank. While the particular local conditions will vary the exact detailsof openation to a certain extent, the birds are generally left in thisfirst scald tank for a period of from 50-90 sec- Patented Oct. 29,1957

onds, with the water temperature of approximately 118- 132"" F1 Thislength of scalding is suificient to loosen most of the body feathers,but not so long as to cause any barking of the skin of the body duringthe picking. opfilfitiOn; After" leaving the first scald; thebirds'p'roce'ed through theback scald unit where a selective. steamscald in applied only to the back for a limited period ofapproximately 1/2 seconds to 2 seconds. The two'scalds loosenall' the feathers of thebody, including the back feathers, to an extent that it is much easierto d'efeather than has been previously possible with the conventionalpractice of scalding the whole bird. The last operation illustrated is ade'feathering operation in a conventional used in varying order.

This is a divisional application of co-pending U'nited States patentapplication Serial No. 318,587; filed November 4, 1952, now Patent No.2,700,792, issued February 1, 1955.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the invention, ashereinbefore set forth, may be made Without departing from the spiritand scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposedas are indicated' in the appended claim.

We claim:

A back scalder for use in scalding birds supported by a shackle from anoverhead conveyor, said scalder, includ-. ing a hood like member havinga generally oval opening at one side thereof, the dimensions of saidopening being no larger than the dimensions of the backs of said, birds.whereby'the' hoo'd'aboutthe' opening will form a sealiwith a back of abird'vvhen an operator brings said enclosure 7 into position against theback. of the bird, a steam line communicating with the interior of saidhood and a valve insaidsteam line, said valve having anoperating memberpositioned" immediately adjacent said. hood to 'conbact a bird when saidhood is brought against the back of'a bird to open said valve and toclose. said valve upon 2,041,001 Knowlton May 1 9, 1936 2061,180Williams Nov. 17, 1936 2,189,451 7 Peters Feb. 6, 1940

